Taking off from the sun-warmed sidewalk outside of Alfalfas and leaving Dusky and Brush Stroke behind, Tempest was at the head of their little V formation as she lead the way up through ten thousand feet back to the Cloud District. Bathed in the warm glow of the mid-afternoon sun, the huge cloud formed building that was Trottingham Sky University was an imposing sight indeed. “Here is my Alma Mata,” the violet weather mare announced with a degree of pride when they landed.

Landing next to her marefriend, Wildfire was directed to a noticeboard in the grounds of the university just outside the main entrance that happened to have a relief picture of the building on it above a dedication plaque that she could feel. Feel she did, gently with both hooves. “Ooh,” she smiled when she’d built up a mental image of the university, “this is way cooler than my school!”

Tempest had to agree that the cloud building was indeed ‘cool’. “I do have a degree in meteorology, you know.” She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t resist a little showing off.

Beside her, always to Wildfire’s left, Airmail couldn’t resist teasing the younger Tempest. “And a Minor in being a Mother Hen, too.”

As Tempest did the only reasonable thing in the circumstances – blowing Airmail a loud wet raspberry – Wildfire reflected very briefly that she had never gotten the chance to graduate from Canterlot City University. She had no idea where she’d be now if she had have done. “You’re my clever purple pegasus!” She smiled eventually, having decided not to dwell on it too much. That was then, this was now. Smiling, she felt for Tempest’s face and offered her a kiss.

Wrapping the little yellow mare in her forelegs, Tempest took the kiss that was offered as well as another to spare while Airmail wolf-whistled from the side lines. Eventually they had to break for air, and Wildfire giggled, “That was the best thing I learnt in school!”

Airmail snickered at her side and made sure to get her kiss in too. Just to not be left out, of course. “And here I was hoping you aced home economics so I wouldn't have to cook.”

“Well,” Wildfire shrugged, “I didn't fail it, Pretty.” Or maybe she did, she didn’t honestly know. The only official qualifications to her name now were the ones she had gotten from High School. Maybe she had failed, what with the care home and what had happened. Did that make her a drop out? Again, Wildfire decided not to dwell on it.

To her right, Tempest also snickered. “As long as you passed feather preening, you'll be good with Airy.”

Wildfire couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Ah now, you see, you two taught me the finer points of that back at Caffy's place in the Mare’s Room, as I remember.”

“Yes,” Tempest declared proudly, “I am a good teacher and Airy is a good demonstrator.”

“As I recall you were both very good.” Wildfire commented with a bright little giggle, “And you were good teachers, too!”

“Been sixteen years since I graduated here,” Tempest mused as she looked over the large imposing building with a critical, if slightly nostalgic, eye. “I see the campus has gotten bigger.”

Wildfire, with her head cocked to one side, wasn’t really listening. Not be mean or rude, far from it. No, she was thinking about her mum, Silverbolt. A thought triggered by something Tempest had said a few moments before. “Y'know how you did meteorology, Honey? You and mum would've been best friends, I think.”

Tempest smiled, honoured at being mentioned in the same breath as Silverbolt in that fashion. “Yeah, I could see us hanging out at clubs.”

Wildfire grinned, once more casting her mind back to her mother. One of the hardest working goal oriented pony she had ever known. “She would've liked talking shop with you, and you would have known what each other was on about.”

“Yeah,” Airmail said, a smile in her voice, “I know what you mean, Wily. It’s hard work when Stormy gets all this front and that front and only stops when my snores drone her out…” she had to pause then, as the violet hoof that playfully swatted the back of her head made her lose her train of thought amidst a gale of giggles.

“Well my dad never tried to get it, Pretty,” Wildfire replied, “And mum lost me the minute she talked about calculating load densities of class seven clouds and estimating the power output of a class nine lightning bolt.”

“Oh, I just have to say it!” Tempest said with an affected deep sniff. “Those are elementary calculus equations you know, my dear Wily.”

“You might as well be talking Zebran for all the sense they make…” Wildfire muttered not quite under her breath, then she smiled when her mood flipped one eighty. “That’s why you're the clever one!”

As Airmail shot her herd-mate a very knowing look straight over Wildfire’s back, Tempest giggled. “I’m not as clever as I think, right Airy?”

Airmail nodded. “You got that right in one shot.”

Wildfire giggled as she and Airmail were led around the university campus and shown what was what. “Well, you're smarter than me at any rate.” When they got to the gift shop after the library, a tour that took a good twenty five minutes, Wildfire was impressed. “Wow!” She gasped, “Your school’s way huge! Your library's massive!”

Tempest nodded, that little pang of well-deserved pride coming back in full force. “TSU is second only to Cloudsdale in size.”

“It certainly feels it, walking these halls.” Wildfire giggled, feeling the cloud construct beneath her hooves. “I spent most of my time in the university library when I was there reading Shakespony. It was the best way to avoid the bullies.”

“Yeah,” Tempest’s good mood instantly dissolved into a pit of self-loathing when she heard that. She kicked at the floor as they walked along, leaving a divot in her wake. “Avoid ponies like me…” she muttered with her head down. She had been utterly wretched in her younger days. Had she been the musing type, she would have supposed that was why she sympathised so much with Air Raid right now.

Wildfire however wasn’t having that at all. Feeling for the much larger pony to her right, she pulled her into a tight hug and as passionate a kiss as she could muster. “Hey!” She said in a scolding tone, “You're nothing like Blitzwing!”

Instantly buoyed at that, Tempest pulled Airmail into their group hug. “Because I was a lucky mare and got shot by a very special pony.”

“Maybe if somepony had shot Blitzwing he'd have been different too.” Wildfire said, not letting go of the hug for a second. “I cannot and will not believe you were ever as malicious as him, even if you were a bully.”

Tempest decided not to argue. “I can go with that.”

“So can I,” Airmail punctuated her statement with a kiss to Tempest’s strangely damp violet cheek.

“Good filly.” Wildfire kissed Tempest’s other cheek, tasting the wet saltiness that was there on her fur. “That’s better. You aren’t putting yourself down. I won’t let you.”

“Not every memory is a good memory, Wily.” Tempest said, a little sullenly as they began to make their way back outside, “That’s why I'm making new memories with you.”

Wildfire had to agree with that, certainly. “No they aren't Stormy, that’s why these new memories are so precious to me…” Wildfire’s sentence was suddenly interrupted by a not-so-forced three way kiss. A hot three way kiss that would’ve gotten them sent to the vice principal’s office back in the day. “Besides, these are the best memories I've had for a long time, and that's partly your fault, Honey.”

Airmail giggled when they reached the grounds and once more felt the sun on her face. “She is such an ebil pony, she is!”

“Pretty,” Wildfire shook her head, misunderstanding quite what her fiancé had said, “I've known evil ponies, and she ain't one of them.”

“Not evil,” Airmail corrected the blind mare with a gentle nip to her ear, “Ebil, there’s a big difference.”

“That’s true,” Tempest snickered behind her hoof, “That’s why we are getting fishy cookies.”

“Oh, sorry my bad,” Wildfire giggled. Ever since she had told her two herd-mates about her best friend’s pet hate on the ascent up to the Cloud District, she knew they’d be getting them at some point. “I just know Dusky's gonna love ‘em!”

Tempest gave a teeny little shudder. “I sure as Tartarus didn't like them when I got them.”

Airmail laughed, remembering that priceless prank she had played on her violet marefriend. “Didn't stop you from eating and sharing though, did it?”

Tempest joined in the laughter now, “That was funny, and once I ate one, there was no going back until I could brush my teeth.”

Wildfire just giggled, “I wish I could see his face when he eats one.”

Airmail knew what to do here to prevent ‘sad Wily’. “I'll remember for you and when we do another shared dream we'll have Luna show you.”

“Well!” Tempest declared loudly, “that completes the ten bit tour of TSU, now let’s go to the mall!”

Airmail approved of the mall. She approved a lot. She decided to show this approval with a wing slap to Tempest over Wildfire’s back between them. “Do they still have the ice cream shop there?”

Tempest shook her head and shrugged. “I don't know, but we can go and find out.”

“Any excuse to shop, ladies!” Wildfire giggled happily, “As if we need an excuse, right? Besides, chocolate ice cream is always welcome!”

Airmail couldn’t help herself. “You sure you don't want peach, my love?”

“While it's not the crappiest thing I've ever eaten,” Wildfire shuddered hard. No, that dubious honour went squarely to the ‘food’ she had been forced to eat back at the care home. Forced, while Lotus Stripes stood laughing watching her force it down into her starving belly, “No babe I think I'll have chocolate, thank you.”

“Then let us fly to the mall!” Tempest cried heroically as she spread her powerful violet wings and took off.

Wildfire likewise launched herself into the air behind Tempest’s swishing black tail. “I'm with you, Honey.”

“I'm with you both!” Airmail snickered and took off, flying alongside Wildfire’s left flank to keep said flank company. Thankfully, the mall wasn’t very far from the university and, after a short ten minute flight they were landing again. When they were all down, Airmail looked at the directory. “It’s still here, oh, they have a lingerie store that's new!”

Tempest rolled her eyes at the excitement in the azure blue mare’s voice. “You just want something to match what Mapper is getting Wily,” she teased.

“Lingerie's that lacy fancy Prench stuff, isn't it?” Wildfire asked, wanting to be sure of herself.

“Yes,” Tempest replied with a nuzzle and a hoof strategically placed hoof under Wildfire’s right wing joint and caressed the sensitive spot. “Sexy to both the eye and the hoof.”

“Aaah!” Wildfire’s legs went wobbly, “S-Something frilly and lacy I can feel for you both would be cool,” she managed to gasp out

“See Stormy,” Airmail snickered and added her hoof to Wildfire’s left wing joint, giving that a gentle caress, “we need some hoofing good clothes for the night time snuggles!”

“Gaaa!” Wildfire was amazed at how she managed to stay upright. She had no idea how she did it. At all. “W-We Mmmm d-do indeed,” she really had to fight her wingboner, “and I want to treat you both to something nice.”

Airmail removed her hoof, having decided enough teasing was enough, and she didn’t want Wildfire leaving a snail trail behind her in the mall. “I want to let you,” she purred huskily into her fiancé’s ear.

“Fine.” Tempest giggled as she – somewhat reluctantly - removed her hoof from Wildfire’s right wing joint. “Our first stop will be Everfree Lingerie.”

“Yay!” Wildfire stole a very quick kiss from Tempest as they entered the Cloud District mall. As it was Wildfire’s very first time in such a building, she was learning many new things about pegasi constructs. Mainly, in the case of the mall, that there was no roof between stores which made getting around very easy. The blind mare quickly noticed this when they flew around. “Hey...there's no ceilings!”

“Well,” Tempest spared a moment in the busy bustling and noisy mall to look up and see what she took for granted. “There is one over the stores for security, but not over the passage ways.”

“It causes much less crowding that way,” Airmail interjected as they made their way smartly to their destination. “And here we are!” She announced cheerfully when they all landed in front of the fancy underwear shop and entered it in single file.

“Welcome to Everfree's.” A pale grey middle aged pegasus mare with a shoulder length sky blue mane greeted them almost the very second they walked over the threshold of the shop. “I'm Garter, how can I help you today?”

“My fiancé, Wildfire, would like to find something that feels nice on me.” Airmail started, not caring for the way the shop assistant wasn’t looking at the little yellow mare, but also she decided not to make a thing out of it. They wouldn’t be in here long enough to bother.

Garter looked confused for two seconds until comprehension dawned upon her. “Feels...” she muttered before the pale grey mare at last looked at Wildfire with a blush. “Oh, of course.” Noting Airmail’s dangerous look, she instead smiled to the little blind pony. “Do you like soft or hard? Smooth or rough?”

“Um…” Wildfire, who was of course oblivious to the interchange between Garter and Airmail, had a good think at that. Eventually she made her mind up. “I think very soft and smooth would be better for my lovely, and she has to enjoy wearing it too.”

Tempest snickered, unable to stop herself. “No chainmail body armour for you, Airy.”

Smiling, Garter came up alongside of Wildfire and very gently nudged her potential customer with her wing to get her to follow her deeper into the shop. “Please follow me and you can see what feels right to you, then.”

As Wildfire sniffed and began to follow the shop assistant, she sniffed for a second time. The blind mare guessed that her perfume was a soft fresh washed linen scent. She breathed it in deeply as they wove through the maze of aisles. “Hmm, you smell of linen, Ms. Garter.” She turned her head to her left and to Airmail, “Is soft and smooth okay, my love?”

“You're the one doing the touching,” Airmail reminded her with a gentle caress of her wing along her lover’s back, “But I get to choose the colour.”

Tempest saw the warning signs at once and decided to head this cart off at the pass before it got rolling. “Airy, if you choose neon green again, you're definitely sleeping outside this time.”

Wildfire giggled, wanting to tease her marefriend a little. “You can choose any colour you like Pretty.” She giggled a little harder, “I love neon green. Kinda like Air Raid with a light bulb up her ass.”

Now Tempest laughed out loud at that particular mental image as it flashed through her mind like an old Acme cartoon. “I'm so going to bring a flashlight next time we see her and say it is all your fault, Wily.”

Wildfire shrugged. “That’s fine with me, Honey.”

Garter giggled as she led the three pegasi mares to the very, very sexy aisle of extra-Prench lingerie. “Okay,” she said brightly in her best sales assistant voice. “Here are four outfits that you can touch.” The middle aged pale grey mare showed off the array of silks, cashmeres, synthetic and one thousand thread count cotton outfits.

“Silk.” Wildfire said presently after a long silent ten minutes where she felt every inch of the various offered outfits with her hooves. “Silk, please, just like my Airy's fur.”

“Didn’t you mean brillo pad?” Tempest asked cheekily, earning herself a raspberry from Airmail for her trouble.

“Now, now Honey,” Wildfire giggled, “you know that's her personality.” Airmail and Tempest both laughed at that, as did Wildfire herself. “And I love you for it, babes.”

Garter simply smiled a professional smile, not wanting in the slightest to get that dangerous look on the blue mare’s face again. “I suggest you try it on to see if it still feels right. For this we have the colours of lavender, pink, burgundy, black, white, and bright yellow.”

“Alrighty, it’s your choice of colour Pretty,” Wildfire smiled as she held her hoof on the silk garment. “It would be nice to test it out, get the feel for it.”

“Yes, a test drive, and go for the burgundy.” Tempest suggested while she eyed up the selection of very flimsy but very erotic undergarments.

Airmail nodded in agreement. “Burgundy is nice.”

“Burgundy works for me, Pretty.” Wildfire agreed quickly before turning towards Tempest’s scent. “What colour do you want, Honey?”

Tempest spotted the one she wanted right away. “Bright yellow, just like honey.”

That worked for Wildfire too. “Honey, that’s awesomes! Burgundy and yellow…make some colour I’m sure…”

Garter, ever the professional mare, coughed ever so slightly. “Ahem, would you like a dressing room?”

Tempest shook her head ‘no’. “Here is fine.”

Airmail also shook her head. “Same.”

Wildfire smiled. “Make sure you pick something nice.”

“Close your eyes, Wily,” Airmail giggled, enjoying the look of confusion on Garter’s face at her joke. “I don't want you to see us getting dressed till we are done.”

Tempest let out a bright little giggle when Wildfire raspberried them both. “I'll even turn my back in case I get tempted to peek.”

“You do that.” Tempest ordered somewhat bossily while Garter carefully removed the burgundy and yellow lingerie from the racks. “Can't be too careful with little Stealth Pony here.”

Wildfire turned around and even placed her yellow wings out over her face. “You see? No peekage, as promised.” Almost as soon as she did that, the diminutive yellow pegasus heard the unmistakeable sounds of Airmail and Tempest dressing, with help here and there from Garter as and when it was necessary. Waiting patiently, Wildfire hummed her tune happily while her herd-mates got dressed.

“Okay,” Airmail said loudly after a good few minutes when she and Tempest were both dressed. “You can look with your hoovsies now Wily.”

“Yay!” Wildfire squeaked happily and, given permission at last, she turned and trotted over to Airmail and Tempest using her sense of smell, her left hoof held out for a careful feel.

“Yes darling,” Airmail purred sensuously when her lover’s hoof ran up her silk-clad thigh to her wing joint. “Do run your hooves all over me…”

Tempest giggled as Wildfire continued to gently caress her hoof over Airmail’s body. “Oh wow...it really is soft, my hoof’s just running off it!”

“Think how easy it will be slide off of me when the time comes…” Airmail purred huskily into Wildfire’s left ear.

“Oh, I’m waaay ahead of you, Pretty.”

“Me next!” Tempest cried, bouncing like an excited overgrown filly that made Garter grin a very wide grin, and the sale hadn’t even been made yet. “I want to see if my yellow feels different than Airy’s burgundy.”

“Alrighty,” Sniffing and feeling her way over to the right, she eventually found Tempest and felt her larger violet body with both of her forehooves. “Hmm…this does feel slightly different. It’s still super smooth though,” she had herself another good feel just to make sure. Not to grope her teats at all. No. “Although, it's only the second silk thing I've felt.”

Airmail smiled a genuine loving smile as she watched Wildfire ‘exploring’ Tempest with her hooves. “I do believe she approves, Garter.”

“I do!” Wildfire squeaked, “I do a lot approve!”

“We'll take both, please.” Tempest said to the ecstatic sales assistant.

Airmail gently ran her wingtip along Wildfire’s back to get her attention, which she did once the feathers reached ‘that’ spot between her back. “We should celebrate our purchase.”

“Yes we should!” Tempest caught the very sultry look on her azure blue marefriend’s face and caught on immediately as she ran her own wing along the little yellow mare’s back. “Any suggestions, Wildfire?”

“Oh! Um, ice cream would be a good start, I guess.” Wildfire smiled, very happy indeed with her soon-to-be purchases. “I'm really glad you like your things.”

For her comment and her generosity, Wildfire received two very wet, very hot kisses that bought a flush to the blind mare’s cheeks as she was led back up to the counter and Garter proceeded to process the sale, which was quite easy seeing as her customers were wearing their purchases. “That will be one thousand two hundred bits, please.”

“Alrighty, Ms. Garter,” Wildfire reached into her saddlebag and fished out her card before passing it over to the pale grey sales assistant. “I got this.”

In short order, Garter rang up the sale and gave Wildfire back her card which she stowed in her bag. “Thank you for shopping at Everfree Lingerie today.”

Wildfire beamed, “Thank you Ms. Garter,” she replied before Tempest gently turned her towards the open shop door.

“You are welcome, my dear.” Garter was pleased for the sale, but the pale grey pegasus couldn’t deny she was pleased to see the back of the customers as they left. The yellow one had been pleasant enough, but eww those scars. Alone in the shop she shuddered so hard she shook her blue mane.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you Wily,” Airmail said loudly once they had covered the relatively short distance in the mall to the ice cream shop. On the way she and Tempest had both received admiring whistles from passing stallions and mares alike. “But they don't seem to have peach ice cream at this place.”

“Looks like the do have chocolate though,” Tempest followed up quickly when she noticed Wildfire’s face droop to the floor.

“They have coffee!” Airmail whooped in delight. “I'm so having that as a malt.”

Tempest perused the wall mounted menu for just a moment before she made up her mind as to what to have. “I'm going to do the banana split with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry I think!”

“I'm not disappointed.” Wildfire sighed. Inwardly she knew there was one last thing preying on her mind. One last shameful hangover from the care home. Ever since Airmail agreed to marry her she just knew it would come to light, just as much as she knew she’d have to tell her fiancé. It didn’t do to keep secrets. “I guess I'll get chocolate and coffee, please.”

“Good choice,” Airmail said, though she detected the dejected tone in her betrothed as quickly as Tempest did, though she shook her head, none the wiser. “You want a cone, cup or sundae?”

“Sundae will be fine, thank you, Airy.”

Tempest shared a very worried look with her herd-mate. They hadn’t heard Wildfire’s voice sound like this since the time she told them about the braille poems. The violet weather mare shot her head towards the nearest empty table. “Both of you sit down, I got this.”

“Okay,” Airmail nodded her agreement to this plan. “There is an empty table over to your right, Wily.”

“Alright thanks Honey.” Somewhat subdued, noticeably so, Wildfire moved to the right and felt around until she found and sat at the table. Airmail, a puzzled look on her face fighting with concern for dominance, sat next to her obviously troubled fiancé waited quietly for Tempest to return with the ice cream. “So, Pretty...” she made a very nervous giggle. “We're getting married and all and that’s great...and well, there's something I need to tell you, first.”

Airmail knew there was a ‘something’. A very big something. Before Wildfire could continue though, she rested her forehoof on her own. “Wait a minute or two please.” After a couple of minutes more, Tempest came over with the ice creams on a tray and sat down opposite Airmail and Wildfire, sliding the sundae in front of the fretting blind pony. “Okay love,” Airmail started, “Tell me where the happy pony from the lingerie shop went to?”

“She's on holiday for a moment.” Wildfire muttered miserably into the table top. “Look, there's something, it's a big thing. You'll hate me, but you deserve to know, before we get…”

Airmail interrupted her before she could carry on much further in that vein. There was no way in a cold Tartarus she was having that. "Stop right there for a moment.” She said gently before leaning in and kissing her lips deeply. “Please love, never accuse me of hating you.”

Leaning in over the table, Tempest also gave the little yellow mare a lingering kiss. “Nor me.”

“Now that is out of the way please share your pain with us.” Airmail said kindly as a very curious Tempest sat back down on her seating pad.

“Th-Thanks…” Wildfire sniffed a sad little sniff. The cat was well and truly out of the bag now, she had little choice but to continue. She’d come this far already. “Do you remember those braille poems I read to you days ago? Well, there was one missing from the end of the book.”

Tempest looked up at Airmail and they both shared a series of ear flicks. “Wily, may I record this?” She asked once the ear flicks were concluded.

Sniffing, which was universally recognised by all that knew her as a sobbing cry, Wildfire nodded. “Y-Yuppers, you can. See, there wasn't a poem but there was an entry…” she sniffed deeply, both in shame and embarrassment. “Before I start, I want you both to know I'm sorry. I-I…I had no choice…”

Tempest silently got up from her side of the table and in a moment, Wildfire found herself sandwiched between the two older mares. The violet pony nuzzled Wildfire’s right cheek. “You know I had a choice yet I chose to be a bully.”

Likewise, Airmail nuzzled Wildfire’s left cheek. “I had a choice and I chose to kill ponies. Sometimes you have do that which you don't want to do, but what you are forced to do.”

“We cannot hold that against you.” Tempest said as tenderly as she could, delicately kissing Wildfire’s ear.

Wildfire knew the moment was at hoof. No backing away now. “I-I didn't want to do it…” she sniffed a loud wet sniff. “I really didn't. Th-They starved us...I-I held out for almost eight days…” another long deep sniff, “I'm sorry…” Wildfire trailed to silence as she was nuzzled from each side, but neither mare moved to interrupt her.

She hated herself right now. She could hear Lotus Stripes and his mocking, goading voice in her ear. She could practically smell the foul rancid food in the bowl. Her bowl. Her feed bowl. She could taste it on her tongue…it was as if she was back in her cell. “I-It was all there was to eat, I swear…” yet another sniff, and now a very tiny voice, “I-I a-ate m-meat, dog food. I ate d-dog f-food. It was disgusting…”

Airmail looked at Tempest.

Tempest looked at Airmail.

Both mares were stunned into silence at their herd-mate’s revelation. Neither knew exactly what to say to comfort their sniffing lover. What followed was a flurry of ear flicks so fast and intense that they may as well have had mites. “Technically,” Airmail offered eventually, “fish is meat too.”

“True,” Tempest’s hooves squeezed Wildfire’s own. “But neither of us has eaten dog food, have we?”

“That’s true.” Airmail conceded that point as well made. Turning her attention back to her fiancé, “Wily, why are you ashamed of surviving? I've eaten a lot of griffon food, for all I know I may have eaten pony by accident. Their rations all taste exactly like crap.”

Wildfire looked down at the table, barely sniffing her ice cream, though she was no longer crying. “Airy, it was sickening. I dunno why but...I just dunno...after a few times I even chose the meat over the box, I just remember Amethyst mocking me for it. She called me her obedient little doggy. It…didn't feel like surviving.”

Airmail’s temper bristled under her skin. “I would so like to take Amethyst Glory out right now, but Luna has her locked away where I can't get to her. So, instead you'll just let me do this.” With that, the azure blue mare once more kissed her diminutive lover very passionately indeed, which was quickly followed by Tempest doing the same. “You know, for a meat eater, you still taste as sweet as when I first met you.”

Wildfire made with a lot of sniffs at that. A serious amount of sniffs. “I…I was worried you wouldn't want to do that again.”

Airmail smiled, “Well I'd rather not eat griffon rations again, if it is all the same to you.”

Tempest snorted out a laugh as her herd-mate kissed her fiancé’s lips. “I like ponies to poop on me, so if you don't think that is disgusting, then who am I to judge a pony by what they have eaten under duress.”

“Stormy,” Airmail rolled her brown eyes, though there was a smile in them. “It is disgusting, but I still poop on you anyways.”

Wildfire gave a nervous little giggle. “I ah, I didn't know what to think. I wanted you both to know though, ‘cos I'm not scared of her anymore, and I didn't want to keep things from you both.”

“Just, don't ever think I'll hate you.” Airmail had a little bit of pleading in the tone of her voice. “Please, Wily.”

Wildfire blushed intently at that. “I um, I guess I should've known better than that, right?”

“Yes you should have,” Tempest smiled lovingly at Wildfire and caressed her cheek with her hoof. “But now you do. You have a fine mare there.”

“I do,” Airmail nuzzled Wildfire’s neck, “don't I.”

Now it was Wildfire’s turn to smile when she felt the love in the nuzzle she was getting. “Yuppers I do, wait...” she paused, a little confused as she thought Tempest was talking to her. “Wait…you do?”

Airmail laughed brightly. “I'm sure Stormy was talking to me, right? Maybe it was you, the result is the same.”

“I’m sorry Pretty,” Wildfire grinned and, at last taking a mouthful of her ice cream kissed Airmail first then Tempest, swapping some with both ponies. “There's nothing else, I promise. I'm pretty sure I never used to be a stallion or anything.”

Sensing the brief but all-to-intense drama was at an end, Tempest likewise took up her banana split and tongue-swapped it with her two mares. “So, you aren’t really part of Luna's underground zebra commando squad?”

“Or one of the Celestia six assassins?” Airmail giggled so hard she could barely keep the ice cream in her mouth long enough to transfer it to Wildfire and Tempest.

“Can you really see me as an assassin?” Wildfire laughed out loud before diving into her ice cream once more. “Besides, Luna doesn't have assassins, that’s just an old mare's tale to frighten foals to behave, everypony knows that. Nor am I a changeling, as far as I know.”

Tempest giggled, “I said Luna has commandos.”

“And I said Celestia has assassins.” Airmail clarified, her voice thick with her own ice cream.

“Yuppers!” Wildfire declared with a laugh in her voice before once again sharing her chocolate ice cream with the other two older pegasi. “I'm secretly the chief commando in charge of all the assassins and Dusky is my second in charge of the assassin commandos!”

“I always knew you were the master mind behind Dusky.” Airmail stated in a way that said that was that.

Tempest decided to play along, now that the conversation and the mood had taken a distinct turn for the better. “Is it true that the Librarian is actually in charge of all of Equestria?”

“Oh no Stormy, she answers to me too, you just can’t see my horn.”

“Wow…” Tempest giggled before kiss-sharing the last remnants of her banana split with Wildfire and Airmail. “Now that is a high class illusion spell right there. Same with the eyes?”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire smiled as she swallowed the banana dessert. “It’s all me, really!” She barely finished that sentence before she burst out laughing.

“Well, Super Duper Secret Agent Stealth Pony,” Airmail said as both she and Tempest hugged the little blind mare from both sides at once, “Has the happy humming mare from Everfree Lingerie returned from her holiday?”

Wildfire nodded, especially when she felt the silk lingerie that was only just covering some of her herd-mate’s bodies. “Yuppers, she has, but now you know my secret I must kill you...with my kisses!” Wildfire snickered and blindly peppered her two mare’s faces with many little kisses.

Airmail veritably basked in the rain of kisses. “Sweet death, I welcome you.”

Tempest likewise closed her eyes and allowed the kissing terror to have her way. “Stay not your lips of terror.”

Wildfire giggled as she ceased her kissing onslaught. “I have thought of a better use for these lips, if you'd both like to take a break on a cloud?”

“I take it you mean away from the Cloud District on a nice high level cloud were you can ravish us?” Tempest purred sexily into Wildfire’s ear, getting an instant wingboner for her trouble. That, and a hasty frantic nod of her head, told her everything she needed to know.

~ ~ ~

“So Wily,” Airmail started when they took off from the take-off point outside the cloud mall’s entrance into the beautifully warm mid-afternoon sun, their destination a secluded cloud which at their height of around nine thousand feet or so would most likely be a cumulus. “Just what did you and Raid do on that cloud six years ago?”

Flying along at Airmail’s right, with Tempest at the head, Wildfire had a think about that. A think, along with a blushing giggle. “Weeeell, first we admired the stars, then Raid misquoted the Tempest, as if you could, then we kissed, like a lot.” Wildfire paused, those very happy memories flooding back to her like a much needed balm. “Then, I kissed and licked her hooves. She peed while I was doing that, then I ate her out after I sucked the pee off her hoof. Then, we switched and she took my virginity by hoofing me.”

Tempest, though she had heard this story before, was justly impressed at a mare being capable and willing of being hoofed on the first time. “Well that certainly does sound like fun to me.”

Airmail, who had also heard it before, pondered it anew. She also pondered just how far she’d go with her. To the end of the line, of course. Still, she had limits. “I can play along with some of it, at least.”

“I don't know if we can take your virginity again though,” Tempest burst out into a fit of giggles.

“As first dates go, I guess it was eventful,” Wildfire giggled with Tempest and when she altered her course to the left, the little blind mare followed suit. “After I came I kinda blissed out, and Raid had to wait for me to come round again before she could get back down.”

That certainly piqued Airmail’s interest, knowing what she knew now of Air Raid’s Scootaloo’s Syndrome. “Did you know then that she couldn't fly?”

Wildfire shook her head. “No, she told me a few months later, after the funfair carnival. We were on the Ferris wheel and she told me then, she told me everything.”

Just then, as a wonderfully delicious idea took hold, Airmail’s brown eyes went very big and wide. “Wily, can you carry me to the cloud?” She asked innocently, while Tempest did her best not to stall in mid-air with the force of her laughter.

Wildfire giggled at that. “If I had eyes I'd roll 'em. Sure I will Dodo, but the next carnival there is, you're winning me an Octavia plushie, okay?”

“Good luck with that.” Tempest snorted having managed to get her flight back to level after her laughing fit. “We can see if Caffy can win one off of Mapper.”

Wildfire’s voice dropped a little as they flew so slowly that they may as well be hovering. “Raid thought it was such a foalish thing, but, she did it for me anyway.”

Airmail made her way a little closer to Wildfire and gently caressed her flank with her wingtip. “You really need to see Thespy's plush collection sometime.”

“I take its huge?” Wildfire asked with a giggle, “Oooh…you should've seen Raid after that when Blitzwing and his dogs had a hold of Dusk and me in the beer tent. She was properly awesomes!”

Tempest flew back upon hearing that and gently nuzzled her cheek. “It’s nice to hear you speak so well of her, Wily.”

“I’ve hated her for long enough Honey,” Wildfire replied quietly, seriously, her head to one side as she hovered in the air above the Cloud District. “I just can't hate her anymore. She made a mistake, that’s all. She was young…er than she is now, a different mare, I’m sure.” She grinned then, turning her head to Airmail’s direction. “You'd have been impressed Airy, she had Blitzwing pinned down with her hoof at his neck,” she laughed, “She knocked his stupid fedora clean off his head.”

“Many of us have made mistakes.” Airmail said, understanding Air Raid a lot more now at least. “Let's find a fat cloud filled with water so we can shower after the fun. Don't want to show up to Oils's place smelling like mares in heat.”

“You're on, Pretty.” Wildfire smiled, “besides I'm done hating. All hate does is get you a face full of acid.”

Airmail hovered over to her fiancé and laid very tender loving kisses over her facial scars, not wincing in the slightest at the feel of the empty sockets underneath. “Hate can't live unless you feed it.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire nodded, “besides it sounds like Raid's beat herself up enough I think. So, you hopping on for that ride, Pretty?”

Adjusting her hover just a little bit, Airmail landed neatly on the diminutive yellow mare’s back and held on with her hind legs around her barrel. “If you get tired, say so and I'll fly off.”

Tempest looked around from their current position above the Cloud District, her weather mare mind reading the breeze and the cloud formations far off in the distance. “Should be some nice rain clouds off to the south.”

“No worries at all, Pretty, just gimme a direction to the clouds and I'll be sound.” She giggled a little as she got accustomed to Airmail’s weight on her back. “At least you aren't as heavy as Raid.”

Airmail sniffed. “I suppose I'll take that as a compliment.”

“There are some nice looking ones about two miles to the south east,” Tempest announced as she gently nudged Wildfire around until she was facing the right direction, “But they are only around five thousand feet at the top.” She snickered at a couple of ear flicks from her herd-mate. “Race you!”

“Oh!” Wildfire gasped when she felt Tempest buzz past her. “It. Is. On!” Confident of her facing, she flared her wings and flapped them as hard as she could, accelerating up to her top speed of seventy five with a joyous laugh. “Pretty,” she said after a few moments, “Are we winning?”

“We are!” Airmail cried happily, “We are! Up a couple hundred feet and straight ahead, Wily.”

“Yeeehaw!” Thrilled to bits to think that she was actually beating Tempest of all ponies in a straight race, Wildfire angled herself upwards and kept up her fast pace.

Airmail leant forward on her back and whispered in her ear. “She is starting to catch up!”

“Oh Tartarus!” Wildfire swore and, taking a deep breath, she opened her taps and just went for it, imagining the urgency of a fire to spur her onto a new top speed of eighty eight miles per hour.

“That's it!” Airmail cheered for she saw the fat cumulus cloud that was the finish line fast approaching and knew they were almost out of time. “She is losing ground. Only half a mile to go!”

“This Rookie's got it Pretty!” Flapping that little bit harder, she managed to go that bit faster. She was glad up here they didn’t need roads.

“She is pushing herself now,” Airmail continued to supply commentary to Wildfire, “But I think we got her, just a couple hundred yards more.”

Wildfire was straining at her absolute limit. “Oh, we so got this Pretty!”

Airmail’s brown eyes were wide with excitement, even her, who hated going fast, was caught up in the impromptu race. “You are about to cross the edge...and…and across the line!”

“Wohooo! Oh yeees! Oh yes!” Wildfire felt all four of her hooves connect with the cloud and she jumped up and down, thoroughly pleased with her little self and celebrating her achievement. “And the fire is out!”

“You barely beat me,” Tempest pouted as she landed beside her lover. “But, then you cheated.”

“We did not,” Airmail stuck out her tongue, “Your fault if you didn't set the rules.”

“Um…” Wildfire was confused. More than that, she felt the elation of her win seep out of her. “How did I cheat?”

Leaning in close to her fiancé’s ear, Airmail whispered, “Stormy flew tail first.”

“Oh...” Wildfire scuffed the surface of the cloud miserably with her hoof. All that joy of winning had leeched out of her. “I did think it was weird I won.”

Seeing her marefriend’s rather extreme reaction, Tempest immediately felt rubbish and offered her a tender nuzzle. “You won, my love. I just wanted to give me a handicap to see if I could fly that far backwards. I almost had you to then you put on a burst of speed.”

Wildfire grinned at that, her mood buoyed straightaway. “Ah that was my secret weapon, you see. I pretended there was a fire that I really, really had to get to.”

Airmail kisses Wildfire’s lips. “Clever mare.”

If Wildfire was happier before, she positively beamed now. “You ah, you think so?”

Tempest nodded, “Anything that motivates you is good, Wily.”

Wildfire blushed a very, very intense red blush. “I imagined you two were trapped in the building.”

Airmail nuzzled her lover’s cheek hard and trailed wet sloppy kisses all the way up her little neck. “Are you my prince that has saved me?”

“Yuppers!” She happily returned the nuzzle and the kisses. “I got you out of there.”

Tempest had heard more than enough. She was horny before. Now she was ready to pounce on her marefriend after hearing that. A very quick ear flick between herself and Airmail, a quick nod of the head, and both pegasi moved to either side of Wildfire and roll her onto her back on the cloud. “Shall we give her the full treatment, Stormy?” Airmail asked, that husky tone in her voice.

Tempest nodded firmly. “The works, Airy.”

“Hey…” Wildfire had just a moment to consider that, “wh-what?”

A split second later and Wildfire felt Airmail’s lips pressed against her own. “No talking.” She said simply. Wildfire then felt, if Airmail had kissed her, Tempest begin to preen her left wing. “Hmhmm…” Wildfire murmured as she returned the kiss and Tempest began her preen at the secondary feathers with the idea of working her way slowly to the primaries.

At her head, Airmail engaged Wildfire in a very intense tongue battle and while the blind mare let out a coo at Tempest's preening she attempted to fight back in the tongue battle though she relented little.

When Tempest started on the first primary feather of the left wing, Airmail gave Wildfire’s nose a long wet lick and then she slowly moved down her little yellow body to delicately muzzle and nibble at her neck before working her way down to her shoulders with many little nips and kisses. “Hmmm…aaahhhhh Pre...”

Continuing very slowly down to Wildfire’s chest, all the time nipping and licking while Tempest moaned into her quivering yellow feathers as she suckled on each one. “Oooh…” Wildfire squirmed under both of her herd-mate’s ministrations, getting very wet between her hind legs. “Ooooh that's...hmm I-I liiiike that!”

On her sensuously slow trek down Wildfire’s body, Airmail paused to linger at her left teat once she was past her belly. At her back, Tempest was half way through the primaries on her left wing she timed a long lick as Airmail sucked on her nipple. Under the dual assault, Wildfire whimpered and her wet marehood began leaking as she writhed on the cloud.

As Tempest finished her loving ministrations on Wildfire’s quiveringly hard left wing, the violet weather pony shimmied over and around her panting lover and immediately made a start on the secondary feathers of her right wing. Airmail, having suckled on her left nipple, paid similar attention to her right one before she moved lower still in order to taste her essence as it leaked from her puffy wet tunnel. “NAaaaAH!” Wildfire moaned from the sheer pleasure and reached a hoof down to play with Airmail's summer green mane.

At Wildfire’s dripping wet marehood, Airmail continued to gently nip, lick, tongue and tease all around her labia which were swollen with arousal and need. No matter how hard she licked, no matter where she licked, she always stopped just short of bringing Wildfire to her climax. Working her way slowly through your secondary feathers, Tempest was in her own world as Wildfire began bucking her hips up into Airmail's face, the pleasure from her wings fighting with the pleasure from her hot nethers. “P-Pretty...aaahhh!”

Tempest paused for a moment after the last secondary feather had been sucked and preened. Airmail got up from Wildfire’s sopping wet marehood. “What I like about real clouds is no sheet like our bed.” With that, she forced her left rear leg into the cloud by Wildfire’s black tail and her right leg was stretched across the blind mare’s trembling belly and heaving chest as she pressed their marehoods tight against one another. Instantly when contact was made, Airmail rubbed vigorously and let out a low moan as their clitorises touched.

“Oooh P-Pretty,” Wildfire gasped out, her words thick with pleasure from the scissoring. She desperately rubbed herself back against Airmail's dripping wet marehood, she could smell her juices as clearly as anypony else could see, especially as Airmail was grinding for all she was worth, moaning as the space between them became slick with both mare’s juices.

Finally Tempest finished the last primary feather on Wildfire’s wing with a low pleasured moan of her own. No sooner was she done than the violet mare slid her way up Wildfire’s body and positioned herself so that she was straddling the blind mare’s head facing the grunting Airmail.

“If you would, please.” Tempest ordered gently. From underneath her, Wildfire’s whole world was the sweet musky scent of Tempest’s body heat mixed with the slick juices leaking from her aroused marehood. Grinning as she pictured just what it looked like in her mind, Wildfire leaned her head upwards just a touch and when her nose contacted warm wet pussy flesh she stuck out her tongue and began to lick in earnest.

“AAaaAAAH!” Throwing her head back and screaming as her clitoris was licked, Tempest pushed her dripping snatch straight onto Wildfire’s face while Airmail added her hoof to aid her in the ferociously hard grinding she was giving her fiancé’s pussy.

When her whole sensual world became Tempest’s marehood, her labia spread over her muzzle, Wildfire lapped and sucked for all she was worth. There was no pattern, no finesse, just fifteen minutes of hard haphazard lapping and nipping and especially sucking hard on her exposed hard clit, Tempest was shuddering violently. “Wily!” She screamed to the heavens, “I'm going to come!”

“GAAAaaaAAAH!” Airmail screamed, her body shaking and convulsing as she too neared her orgasm. “M-Me too, come with me Wily!”

Several nips and sucks later, as well as a couple of hard bucks of her hips straight into Airmail’s snatch had Wildfire similarly shaking. The diminutive blind mare thrust and licked one last time and in a crescendo of orgasmic pleasure all three climaxed at the same time, an almighty “AAaaaAAAAHH yeeEEeeeeEEESSSS!” resounding across the sky.

Suddenly, while they all collapsed in a post-coital haze, the slate grey pegasus stallion's who had been watching the whole time finally spoke up. “If you three are finished I need to move this cloud for a scheduled rain over Trottingham.”

Getting up after rolling off of Wildfire’s tongue, leaving her muzzle soaking wet with her cum, Tempest panted; “Let us dive inside for a quick shower first, please.”

“Y-Yu-uppers...then we're done…” Wildfire breathed heavily as Airmail and Tempest both sunk into the cloud and dragged her in with them. Happily, Wildfire sunk into the cloud. She didn’t even care they had been watched, in fact now it turned her on all over again.

“There is one last thing I need to do before we leave,” Tempest giggled after ten minutes of cloud moisture showering had cleaned her off.

Airmail rolled her brown eyes and sighed as she too completed her cloud shower. “You always do this, it might rain on Oils you know.”

Tempest just shrugged nonchalantly. “That just makes it funnier then.”

Wildfire sniggered. She had a very good idea what the violet weather pony had in mind. “Honey, you're so naughty!”

“A mare's gotta pee!” A split second later and Wildfire heard a definite sigh of relief as she released her golden yellow stream steaming into the cumulus surrounding them.

As she released a little of her own stream, Wildfire giggled. “Teehee, that can join the rest of me in this cloud.”

“By the way,” Airmail smiled, “the stallion was sitting on the cloud when we landed.”

“At least he was kind enough to not jerk off on us.” Tempest put in, making all three of them giggle.

“Let's leave out of the top so he knows we're done.” Both Airmail and Tempest rose up through the cloud, taking Wildfire with them on their ascent.

“That was totally fun though!” Wildfire squeaked as she moved up through the cloud’s interior. “And I totally would've done it if I could've seen him!”

Airmail giggled at that. “Darn right you would have!”

“Thank you for letting us use the cloud!” Tempest called out to the patiently waiting stallion as she broke the upper surface.

The stallion smiled, wishing the three mares would kindly go and do one as after ‘that’ performance he really needed some quality alone time on his cloud. “No problem, you made my job today a little less boring.”

“Yuppers!” Wildfire giggled like a filly as they all took off and left the stallion alone to entertain himself on the cloud, “Thanks again!”

“So,” Airmail asked as they flew away back towards the Cloud District, “was it close to being as good as the first time on a cloud?”

“Nopes,” Wildfire shook her head for a definite ‘no’ as she once again followed Tempest’s tail in flight. “It was way better, ‘cos I was with you and Tempest.”

“Awww,” Tempest smiled over her shoulder, “Doesn’t she say the nicest things?”

Airmail checked her watch quickly. “We have about an hour or so before we need to get to Oils.” She announced loudly, “Let’s go back to your place real quick Stormy and dress up for the occasion.”

“And I wouldn't be anywhere else for the world, Honey.” Wildfire smiled as she sped up to gently caress Tempest’s flank with her wingtip. “That’s a good idea Pretty!”

“Mares!” Tempest shuddered as her flank was rubbed, “Back to the Cloud District!”

Wildfire smiled and withdrew her wingtip so she could fly level. “You lead the way Honey, and I shall follow.”

~ ~ ~

“On time!” Airmail cried with no small degree of satisfaction in her voice when the three mares landed on the sidewalk outside of the address they had been given by Brush Stroke. They had all gotten changed in record time at Tempest’s parent’s house in the Cloud District and they looked suitably resplendent in the same evening dresses they had worn at the fancy posh restaurant back in Canterlot.

Tempest snickered as she straightened out her suit and looked over the house. Typical of Trottingham houses it was an old red brick building with a slate tiled roof. Not so typical it was an expansive one storey affair. All the other houses in the street were two or even three storeys high. “We wouldn't want you to fail to live up to your call sign, Airy.”

Wildfire smiled as she felt the cobblestoned street beneath her hooves, smiled as she smelled the tang of smog in the air mixed with the close by sea air from the Celestia Sea to the east. “Pretty, have you ever been late for anything?”

“I have,” Airmail sniffed indifferently, though she had a smile on her face. “Thank you.”

Tempest giggled at that, as did Wildfire too. “As long as it’s not for the wedding that's okay.” With the help of Tempest’s wing as a guide, the little blind mare stepped up to the weatherworn front door. “Shall I knock?”

“Please, Wily.” Tempest said as she stood aside for her herd-mate.

“Alrighty, Equestria’s premier hoof knocking service coming right up!” With that, Wildfire raised her left hoof and delivered her customary two sharp knocks on the old oak door.

A few minutes later – during which time the three waiting pegasi could hear the sounds of a stallion grumbling on the other side of the door, as well as the sound of several locks being opened – and the door opened a fraction, held on a safety chain, to reveal the craggy wrinkled face of an old burgundy stallion with a white mane so closely cropped he appeared bald. Starbright looked them over cautiously. “Who in Tartarus are you three?”

Recognising ‘army’ in the stallion’s bearing, Airmail stepped forward. Her experienced brown eyes saw at once trauma and loss in the sixty year old green eyes that stared back at her. “Colonel Airmail at your service.” She said confidently, assuredly. “I believe we were expected.”

“Uh huh, Colonel is it?” Starbright narrowed his old eyes and peered at the azure blue pegasus in front of him. She matched Dusk’s description, but he knew from the war that didn’t mean a damned thing. “You have any proof that you are who you say you are?”

As if on cue, Dusk Melody’s voice came from inside the old house. “Starbright!” The three waiting mares could tell just by the sound of their friend’s voice that he was definitely a ‘she’ for tonight. “They're expected, they aren't changelings!”

Airmail simply smiled at the burgundy earth pony stallion’s craggy timeworn face. She had fought in the Changeling war. She understood wholeheartedly his mistrust, even all these years later after the event. “What sort of proof are you looking for?”

“Seeing as you know 'em,” Starbright huffed and grumped as he moved out of the way, “You ask 'em something, Dusk.”

Dusky appeared at the cracked open oak door a moment later, beautiful as ever in a plain simple cream dress now with ‘her’ mane in its ponytail, his stallion’s collar around her neck and matching cream earrings, “I’m sorry about this Airy.” Dusky shook her head, trying to think of something that only Airmail would know. “Ugh...ah, okay, what was the first thing you did to Wily in Caffy's shop when we met?”

Airmail knew this game. Short of blood tests, it was a way to spot a Bug imposter. “I sat next to her at the window booth with Lavender on the other side and I started flirting since I knew she wasn't your marefriend.”

Dusky nodded and grinned before addressing Tempest. “Tempest, what song did Wily sing at the Open Mic night?”

While admittedly not as familiar with the procedure as Airmail, Tempest understood what was happening and respected it. Of course she answered as quickly as her partner had. “It was the one she hums all the time when she is happy. Prettiest Eyes. Because she is the mare with the prettiest eyes.”

Satisfied, Dusky turned to her best friend, an unashamedly wide smile on her face when she asked; “And Wildfire, what is seven multiplied by six, please?”

“Um…” Wildfire was stunned. She wasn’t expecting that. “Um, ah…” she tried to think. Dusky knew she sucked at math. Why ask her something she couldn’t answer? “Um...err...thirty something?” She had to guess because she just didn’t know. “Um, thirty four? Ish? I dunno, D, you know I don’t!”

Dusky grinned. She knew the answer was forty two, seeing as it was the answer to life, the universe and everything – everypony knew that – and turned to the grumpy old army stallion. “It’s definitely them, Starbright.”

Starbright rolled his green eyes and huffed, nudging Dusk aside with his wrinkled arthritic hoof. “Alright Princess, stand aside, I can let them in.” With the midnight blue pegasus out of the way, Starbright removed the chain and opened the door fully to his guests. Once he did so Airmail and Tempest saw that as he had no hind legs, his hindquarters were strapped into the metal frame of a wheelchair supported by two thick rubber tyre wheels. “Come on in, ladies.”

“Nice rig.” Airmail gave the contraption a once over. Not as modern as some wheelchairs she had seen, she supposed it was like the pony it supported. Old and battered but still doing the job.

“Thank you, Colonel.” Starbright led them through the short entrance hallway to the expansive living room and turned, snapping off a crisp salute. “Captain Starbright, at your service. Sorry about all that, you can't be too careful.”

Straightaway, Airmail returned the salute, crisp and sharp as the one she had been given. “One can't.” She spared a moment to take in the living room. Soft soothing pastel greens and yellows decorated the walls. Dandelion’s doing, she assumed. “Of course, you may not care much for my unit, but I can live with that.”

“Nonsense,” Starbright waved his guests to have a seat where they could fine one on the seating pads and couches that surrounded the hearth of the open coal fire and the old bulky TV and gramophone. “You're army. It doesn't matter what unit you served with.”

“Dad!” Brush Stroke came up beside Dusky from the kitchen while Tempest casually steered Wildfire to an empty couch. “Have you been harassing visitors again? Sorry, he thinks the invasion's still going on.”

Airmail didn’t go and sit down, not straightaway. Instead she held out a hoof to the old Captain. “Commander, Luna's Own Sniper Brigade.” She then turned to the mid blue earth pony artist, a serious look on her face. “One can't be too careful, Brush Stroke.”

Without hesitation, Starbright took the offered hoof and shook it. He might not care for Luna, but he respected any pony who served. “I don't bear any love for the Princesses, especially that one, but I can respect your service.” He then showed off his cutie mark, a white representation of the serpent entwined Rod of Asclepius, the revolutionary inventor of modern Equine medicine. “I captained the Medical Corps.”

Dusky giggled as Brush Stroke directed her to an empty seating pad. “At least we're on speaking terms though, right Captain?”

“You were present for the Changeling invasion.” Airmail started carefully, wanting a familiar place to start conversation but not wanting any issues with PTSD she didn’t know about. “As was I. It was…an intense few days.”

Starbright nodded to Dusky as she sat down next to his adopted son and he walked over to the pouffe that he liked to rest his forelegs on. Situated next to a strategically placed side table that held the TV remotes. “I was indeed Colonel, while her Aunt was busy getting her flank kicked by Chrysalis and his Mom was off heaven knows where me doing heaven knows what and my ponies were getting slaughtered as they patched up frontline injuries over on Heartbreak Ridge.”

“Mom,” Dusky sighed quietly, “Mom was...busy.”

Airmail caught sight of Dusky’s discomfort and felt a deep pang of sympathy for the young royal. “I can't speak of Luna's whereabouts or her actions during that battle for reasons that you'd understand,” she said eventually, diplomatically, “But I do wish to thank you for what you did. It was ponies like you that kept my fiancé's mother safe.”

“Heh…” Starbright chuckled grumpily as he pointed to Dusky. “Same reason she can't tell me either, I suspect.” He shook his head sadly. “No need to thank me, we were just doing our jobs, until one of my team was replaced by a Changeling, that is.” The burgundy stallion then looked from Wildfire to Tempest curiously. “Fiancé, you say? Which one?”

“Dad!” Brush Stroke wailed, a red tinge at his cheeks, “A bit ‘direct’, aren't we?” He rolled his green eyes and sighed, fishing for a way to try and get this ice a little broken. Happily he found one. A good one. “Ah! What would anypony like to drink? Dad has most things.”

“Beer please.” Airmail requested, going for what she saw as a safe choice.

Tempest nodded. “Same for me.”

“Well Sir,” Airmail smiled, turning her attention to the old Captain, “My fiancé is the cute yellow mare with the prettiest eyes.”

“Oh, same for me too Oils, please!” Wildfire requested, deciding a beer would be most excellent right now. “And Sir,” she said to Starbright, “she means me.”

“C'mon love,” Brush Stroke nipped his lover’s ear in that way he knew she liked. “You can help. We'll see how dad's getting on with the dinner, too.”

As Dusky swayed her hips on the way past him, Starbright gave the young pegasus a long hard appreciative look until they disappeared into the connecting hallway between the living room and dining room through to the kitchen adjacent to it. With a sigh he turned back to the three mares. Wildfire’s scars didn’t bother him in the least. He’d seen worse. “I see, Miss. Was it from birth or not?”

Wildfire smiled. She decided she liked this new direct stallion. “Oh no, it was an accident at university.”

Seeing Dusky and Brush Stroke make their way to get the drinks, Airmail shot Tempest a look and they exchanged a series of ear flicks between them. Quickly, the violet weather pony got the message and nodded. “Making busy! On my way to the kitchen.”

A combat veteran, Starbright could of course understand the language of the ear flicks he’d just witnessed. He’d used the same system all those years ago. “Will your fiancé be staying with us,” he asked Airmail, or will she be alright getting to the kitchen as well?”

“She is an independent mare, Sir, I'll let her decide that.” Airmail replied. As she did so she assumed that somewhere out of sight the kitchen door had been opened when a series of wonderfully delicious smells came their way. “You should be one to know that a disability doesn't slow one down in the pursuit of life.” She added a little snidely, nodding directly at the chair and harness supporting his rear end.

“I'm only blind,” Wildfire bristled angrily at being spoken about like she wasn’t there, like Airmail was her carer. “I can hear just fine. Please talk to me, my name's Wildfire, call me Wily, and I'll be fine here with Airy, unless you're both talking state secrets.”

Starbright chuckled at the little blind mare. She’d passed his little ‘test’ of sorts. “I like you Wily. Direct and to the point. I like that.”

As she scooted over to nuzzle up to her lover, Airmail giggled into her left ear. “State secrets is why he understands, but may not like, what I cannot say. Then again, Starbright, if you were to read onto the same programs I was we wouldn't be having this conversation.”

Again, Starbright chuckled, giving Airmail a nod of understanding. “So, you're engaged? I assumed when you said fiancé you meant the other one, ah…Tempest, was it?”

“Yes, Tempest.” Airmail nodded and smiled pleasantly. “When two others in our little herd got married, neither Tempest nor I thought of doing the same. Then this silly little filly wandered into my life and spun it all out of control.”

“Yuppers!” Wildfire exclaimed excitedly before nuzzling her snout into Airmail’s chest, “I'm many things, and I'm bestest at being silly.”

“Hmm…” Starbright, in spite of his natural grumpiness, couldn’t resist a smile. “So I see. You’re not too hot at multiplying though?” When Wildfire stuck out her tongue at the old stallion he smiled wider and asked, “Are you still with the forces then, Colonel?”

“I still have my hoof in the mix,” Airmail replied nonchalantly as she inspected her hoof, “But I retired after twenty five years of service. That was seven years ago. You get to a point where you tire of killing.”

Starbright nodded with a grin. “I retired fifteen years ago, I got to a point where I was tired of patching up nineteen year old idealistic ponies. And, little Miss, what do you do?” He asked curiously.

“I'm a firefighter in Manehatten.” Wildfire answered quickly with a great deal of pride in her voice.

“Really?”

Airmail narrowed her eyes at the old burgundy stallion. Professional respect and understanding was one thing, but she wasn’t about to have her fiancé accused of lying, no matter whom the accuser was. “I will take that remark as one of surprise and not one that would assume she is lying.”

“Surprised.” Starbright replied, not flinching when he saw a glimpse of the sniper in Airmail’s eyes. “Please forgive me, but don't you need to see where you're going, to do that?”

Once more, the kitchen door opened, revealing that wonderful, beautiful cooking smell to the whole house as Brush Stroke brought out a tray with the requested three beers and placed it on a low coffee table between his dad and his two friends. “I’ll assume you’re being as charming as ever, dad?”

Airmail raised a very sardonic eyebrow at the artist that screamed at him to back off. “He is, thank you,” she replied as she helped herself to the nearest beer. “Military gear has some good uses in the civilian community, right Wily?” She commented to the old Captain’s question.

“I'll leave you three to it then,” Brush Stroke smiled, getting the meaning of the eyebrow message loud and clear. Dad wants to know is veggie lasagne alright?”

Wildfire nodded immediately. “It is as long as there's no celery,” she said with a giggle. “And, yuppers Airy, it is, you see Captain I got this flight suit and headset that helps me fly.”

“I'll eat her celery,” Airmail swooned into Wildfire’s left side, her hoof brought up to her forehead as she laid dramatically across her lover’s back. “You know how it is. Have to fall on your sword for the ones you love.”

“Right you are, Airy.” Brush Stroke sniggered as he turned and trotted off back to the kitchen.

“So,” Starbright said as he reached for the beer situated closest to him on the coffee table. “How long have you two been together?”

Wildfire sipped her own beer. “About twelve days now.”

“As a comparison, I've been with my fellow herd-mates Mapper for twenty four years, Tempest for nineteen years, and Serenity for thirteen years.”

“Your herd-mates?” Starbright asked just to clarify, “and you're getting married after just twelve days? I've been with my Dandelion now for thirty two years, and we adopted our little Brush a year later.”

Airmail nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of beer. “They are the mares in my mini-herd. We are part of a larger herd of twenty two, soon to be twenty three.” She paused then, taking in just what the retired army pony had said. “You’ve been married for thirty two years?”

“Yes indeed.” Starbright’s usual grumpiness was replaced for a moment by a look of pure love for his stallion. “I was twenty eight at the time and Dandelion was twenty.”

Just then, as if on cue, Dandelion's voice called through from the kitchen. “Everypony! The dinner's done! To the dining room please ponies, and Starry. The table's already been set.”

“Ha, ha Dandy, very funny.” Starbright groused to the disembodied voice that belonged to his beloved. “C'mon Airy, Wily, the dining room is this way.” Tutting and chuntering to himself under his breath, he led the way through the connecting hallway from the living room through to the dining room.

As the three ponies made their way into the generously sized dining room decorated with peach coloured wallpaper at the top and white and black stripes at the bottom with a divider between, Dandelion and Brush Stroke each bought out trays of delicious smelling steaming hot food in their mouths and on their backs. Following close behind, Dusky came out carrying a tray with many beers upon it.

When they all took their respective seating pads, Airmail nudged Wildfire who was at her right and said in a very loud whisper; “Careful Wily, I think the stallions are plying us with alcohol for some nefarious purposes.”

Thankfully, as he giggled and raised a hoof up to his forehead, Brush Stroke had already set down the food on the table. “Oh no! Dad, our plan has been discovered!”

“Nefarious?” Wildfire giggled, imagining the possibilities, “Now that certainly does sound interesting.”

“Yeah, Wily we'll teach you math,” Dusky laughed, unable to stop herself. Besides, she saw it as a way to get back at her best friend for the Questionnaire. “In a minute we'll bring out Calculus!”

As Dandelion served up the vegetable lasagne, making sure each pony got at least their own bodyweight in food, the cream earth pony sniggered and playfully swatted Dusky’s ear. “You leave her alone, you.”

“I don't think she'll need calculus,” Tempest was so busy getting a lungful of the mouth-watering meal that she missed the significance of what Dusky had said. “But I think some algebra would be useful.”

“Honey, he means Professor Calculus,” Wildfire corrected her marefriend at the table, a very noticeable grumpiness to her voice that even Starbright was proud of. “She was my math teacher and professional spiteful bit…mare,” Wildfire corrected herself at the last moment. “She was my most favourite of all my teachers.”

Airmail rolled her brown eyes, her belly rather distracted by the lasagne set before her. “And I thought my name telegraphed my job.” She said with a snicker as Dandelion and Brush Stroke loaded the dinner plates further with accompanying vegetables and sauce.

“Pretty, she's only a part time teacher,” Wildfire groused, she recalled quite clearly the time Calculus had ratted her and Air Raid to the Principal and got her marefriend at the time arrested and her suspended. “She’s a part time pain the flank and full time nasty cow...”

Dandelion firmly placed his forehoof on the table. “That's quite enough language at the table, thank you, Wildfire.”

Wildfire shrunk a little. “I’m sorry.”

“Nice to see Wily's love for math to show so strongly.” Tempest snickered as she took her lead from Starbright and began shovelling in the lasagne.

Dusky sniggered as she dug her fork delicately into the lasagne. “Yeah, 'love' is one way to describe it, Tempest.”

Wildfire sniffed dismissively. “Calculus and I had an understanding. She hated me and I hated her.”

Airmail shuddered and rolled her eyes. “You make Canterlot sound better by the minute.”

Starbright chose to forego the cutlery and the aged burgundy earth pony stallion dove straight into his dinner muzzle first. “Pfft,” He said thickly with his mouth full, “Canterlot's nothing but a bunch of stuck up ponies patting themselves on their backs for being important when they have no right to.”

“Ahem...” Brush Stroke recognised one of his father’s anti-Canterlot rants coming a mile away and decided to head it off before it could develop. “Dad, this lasagne is simply lovely!”

“It is,” Tempest spoke up, grinning at her azure blue marefriend. “But Airy is more the expert on that.”

Airmail shook her head, her mouth as full as Starbright’s was. “Too busy eating good food, no time for table talk.”

“Thank you Brush,” Dandelion said as he ate a couple of forkfuls of his dinner, “And well done, son, for the change of subject.” The cream earth pony took a moment to stare very sharp, very pointy daggers at his husband. “When we're all done with this, there's chocolate cake and ice cream to follow.”

“Besides Wily,” Dusky continued with the change of subject, “Uni wasn't all bad, you liked Velvet Quill, remember him?”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire smiled as she reached her hooves out and felt for her bottle of beer. “He was the Literacy teacher, and he was the best!”

“I'm a Trottingham native so just moving to Manehatten was quite the experience,” Tempest commented thoughtfully over a deep draught of her beer.

Wildfire grinned now that the conversation seemed to be moving away from mean nasty teachers. “Moving to Manehatten was one of the best days ever!”

Starbright, his wrinkled muzzle covered in lasagne, laughed at that. “You coming from Canterlot, I can certainly appreciate that sentiment.”

Airmail, not normally given to dinner conversation, was however curious about something. “How have you found life in Ponyville, so far, Brush?”

As he was busy eating his lasagne and accompanying vegetables, Brush Stroke didn’t answer straight away. He thought on it while he quickly chewed and swallowed. “It’s very quiet and laid back Airy, actually. It’s quite the opposite of Manehatten.” He smiled a very fond smile, “Nopony there has a rush in them.”

“All I've heard of the place is the stories that the paper prints.” Tempest commented thoughtfully.

“Aaah,” Dusky giggled at that, “You mean the constant monster attacks from the Everfree Forest, Tempest?”

Brush Stroke almost dropped his fork at the mention of the word ‘monster’. “He, he...th-those are just stories...right?” He asked hopefully. He’d heard the stories about Ponyville, of course. Chimeras, Manticores, Cockatrice, Hydras, Quarry Eels, Timberwolves…he had assumed, or hoped, that they were just that. Stories.

“Yes son,” Starbright harrumphed, “They're just stories...until the stories decide to invade and level half the place. But they’re just stories…”

Airmail looked at Dandelion and saw the very dangerous look he was shooting the ex-army Captain. That made her decide not to laugh. “But the town is protected by the Arch Librarian, leader of the Celestia Six, you have nothing to worry about.”

“You see?” Starbright relented, “Nothing to worry about, and now you have your own personal Princess to protect you, too.”

Dusky grinned and took a deep swallow of her earl grey tea. “I swear I'll do my best, at least I can protect him from flying vases.”

“And overdue library books, don’t forget those!” Tempest added helpfully.

Dusky sighed and swooned dramatically into her dominant stallion’s flank. “Alas, nopony can flee Twi's wrath there.”

“Starbright?” Wildfire asked just after she finished the last of her lasagne and licked her lips, “Did you really throw a vase at Dusky?”

“I certainly did, young lady.”

For what felt like the millionth time since coming home from his flower shop, Dandelion rolled his light blue eyes at his husband. “You don't have to look so proud about it, Starry.” He said reproachfully.

“Well,” Tempest offered after a moment of consideration, “it was an easier introduction than mine with Airy was.”

“It was love at first shot.” Airmail explained when she saw Starbright’s puzzled questioning look he was giving her.

Dandelion’s cream coat went even paler at that, if such a thing was possible. “Oh my,” the effeminate florist raised a hoof to his chest, “I'm very glad you missed, then.”

Wildfire smiled a very happy smile indeed as she thought about her first meeting with Airmail those twelve days ago back at Stripe’s Cup of Java. “I think it was love at first touch with Airy and me.”

“With Dusky and I she just wouldn't move out of my view, she sat there looking all sad, I just had to go and talk to her.”

“Oh,” Tempest snickered playfully once her plate was clean, “That wasn't some 'fat' comment by any chance, was it Brush?”

“Not at all Tempest,” Brush Stroke gave his cute mare a very loving kiss, “Of course, the view was rather spoiled by the rain that afternoon anyway.”

“That’s our Tempest,” Airmail laughed, “bringing lovers together under one umbrella for years!”

“I'm not complaining…” Dusky smiled and turned just a little, taking her stallion in a tight hug and returning the very sensual kiss.

Starbright looked away, a very definite grump all over his craggy face. “Alright Brush, put her down, the bedroom's upstairs for that nonsense.”

“Starbright!” Dandelion exclaimed, rearing up once he finished his lasagne to lightly thump the dining table.

“That is true,” Airmail smiled, “It saves from having to clean the table cloth at any rate.”

Dandelion sniffed, not appreciating the way his husband was acting up, although he had an idea what was behind it. It had nothing to do with Luna and everything to do with his son and his lover. And their flirtatious behaviour. And the fact that Starbright hadn’t been ‘active’ like that with him for years, since the diagnosis. “If you're finished, Starry, you can go get the dessert while I clear these dishes away.”

“Fine,” Starbright pulled back from the dining table and paused at the kitchen door while his ‘wife’ got busy stacking the dishes. “Fine. Who wants cake, who wants ice cream, who wants both?”

As one, Airmail and Tempest answered in unison. “Both please!”

Starbright grunted. “I take it everypony wants both?”

“May as well dad, I know Dusky will.”

“Very much both, please!” Wildfire squeaked happily at the prospect of both chocolate cake and ice cream as well.

“Alright,” Starbright huffed as he hoofed open the door to the kitchen, “Brush, Princess, you can lend me a hoof.”

“Nice to see Dusky fitting in so well here.” Tempest said seriously to Dandelion once the two young lovers had followed the old burgundy earth pony from the dining room. “I take it the rest of the day at the flower shop went well?”

“Oh Celestia, yes Tempest!” The cream stallion smiled, “My assistant made the delivery to your parents’ house and I was able to start preliminary sketches on your designs you wanted, Airy.”

“I look forward to seeing them,” Airmail commented genuinely interested and more than a little excited, “But do please remember it is fragrance, texture, and arrangement that is important for Wildfire to appreciate your work.”

Dandelion slumped into his seating pad once he had stacked up all the dirty dishes. “That won't be a problem, I can prepare just the arrangement.” To Tempest the effeminate florist smiled, “I believe I have you to thank for my upcoming grand-colt, Tempest?”

Airmail tutted. “She is such a busy body.”

“Isn't my fault, it's Mapper’s!”

Wildfire giggled as she drained the rest of her beer. “I thought she was a mother hen? Or maybe it's both?”

“Well whatever,” Dandelion sighed, suddenly looking more harassed than usual. “I'm grateful for it, Brush needed the hoof up his tail-hole. Now I'll have a little colt I can spoil.”

“I suggested it because Mapper talked Luna and Octavia into having another foal.” Tempest said in justification of her teeny interference. “I thought it would be nice to have a nephew for her to grow up with.”

“Your herd knows Dusky's parents well, then?”

Tempest nodded at that. “Luna likes to visit our Alphas, I think Caffeinated struck the right chord with her and Octavia.”

“I must admit if there is to be a wedding, I'm not looking forward to Starry meeting his, sorry, her, family.” Dandelion corrected himself with a definite blush to his cream cheeks. He really couldn’t fault his son for enjoying himself like that. Once upon a time, Starbright had liked him to dress up too.

“I think you worry too much.” Airmail shrugged, “Luna would rather a pony confront her than suck up to her. Maybe she will even tell him where she was, since I can't.”

“I think everypony in the land would like to know that.” Dandelion smiled, rubbing his tired eyes. “So,” he started, pointing his hoof at Wildfire’s collar as curiosity finally got the better of him, “Airy, are you in charge at the moment? I only ask because Dusky wears Oils' colour on hi…her, collar.”

“For the moment.” Airmail replied before nuzzling her fiancé’s cheek, “Till Tempest flips it over.”

Wildfire smiled, “That's why it’s so much fun!”

“Everypony to their own,” Dandelion smiled a little sadly, “We've seen it before with Oils and his previous colt-friends.”

Right at that moment, just when Airmail had a very witty and pithy comment to throw into the conversation, Starbright hoofed open the kitchen door and trotted in with Dusky and Brush Stroke in tow behind him. On the burgundy stallion’s back was a tray with three deep bowls full of a generous slice of chocolate and as much vanilla ice cream as would fit in the bowl. Dusky and Brush Stroke each carried two bowls.

Airmail opened and closed her mouth several times while Starbright set a bowl and a spoon in front of her and moved on to do the same with Wildfire and Tempest. “I didn't know if you can top that lasagne,” she said as she eyed the decadent triple layer chocolate cake with chocolate sauce and frosting with the same lust as she would her herd-mates, “But damn, you are trying.”

“Thank you, Colonel.” Starbright actually smiled a rare smile at the compliment as he made his way over to where he’d been ‘sitting’ and Brush Stroke set him a bowl down in front of him.

“Starry made the dessert earlier.” Dandelion’s face lit up in a smile when he saw the joyous look on his husband’s face.

When Wildfire sniffed the unmistakeable scent of chocolate in front of her she wasted no time at all in digging in with her spoon. “Oh…oh wow…this, this really is properly awesomes!”

Rather uncharacteristically, Tempest had her muzzle actually in the bowl. “You could open a shop on Times Square with this!” She slurred with her mouth full of cake and ice cream.

Starbright felt like he could fly right then, but he settled for a beaming smile. “Dessert cooking is my hobby.”

“When he left the forces, Starry offered to help out in the shop with me.”

The burgundy earth pony chuckled at the memory of that. “It didn't last long, about three days until Dandy was begging me to leave him alone. We decided cooking at home was best.”

Tempest made a sound that was somewhere between a giggle and a pleasured moan. “I'm sure if you did this each day, you could get away with anything in the flower shop.”

Brush Stroke looked up from his already half-eaten bowl of dessert with a very cheeky grin on his mid blue face. “I believe it went something like 'if you mess up my shop up again I'm divorcing you' right, dad?”

“I'm sure I never said that, Oils…” Dandelion sniffed as both Starbright and Brush Stroke burst out laughing. “I like my shop just so, as you know.”

“Like how I like my office.” Tempest commented with her head still in the deep bowl. “Neat and orderly. Quite the opposite of Airmail.”

Airmail had to fight the urge to laugh out loud at the ‘neat and orderly’ Tempest whose violet muzzle was more chocolate brown than violet. “I like organized chaos.”

Dandelion nodded to Tempest. “Exactly.”

“Well,” Wildfire spoke up now her bowl was empty and her belly was full of cake and ice cream. “I'd happily pay many, many bits to eat this. Airy, we so need this at the wedding!”

“So you don't want the celery sticks in peach ice cream?” Airmail asked cheekily once her bowl was spotlessly cleaned out.

“Only if I've been a very, very naughty pony…” whatever Wildfire was going to say after that was quickly forgotten as Airmail leant in to her and passionately and thoroughly cleaned her lover’s face with her tongue.

“So that's a 'yes' then?” Dusky asked, making with the giggles when Wildfire broke away from Airmail and treated her best friend to a long wet raspberry.

Likewise, Airmail and Tempest giggled, the latter leaning over Wildfire’s back so that Airmail could clean her muzzle as well. “There was that one time when Caffy brought over the peach ice cream.”

Dusky nodded at the memory, clear in her head forever more. “That was the day we brought your book back, Wily.” Almost immediately Brush Stroke hugged his mare and gave her a kiss.

“That...” Wildfire said very quietly, “That was a very good day, D.”

Halfway through moving the last spoonful of dessert to his lips, Starbright paused, his ears perked up. “You're a writer, as well as a firefighter, Wildfire?”

“Yes,” Tempest said before her little herd-mate could deny it, “And we'll be doing a book signing sometime next week back in Manehatten.”

Wildfire blushed hard. “They're just silly poems that occur to me, and I write them down…”

Airmail playfully swatted at her fiancé’s nose. “The silly one is you, for thinking they are silly.”

“You’re quite right Colonel.” Starbright said kindly, his grumpiness seemingly evaporated. As it happened, he rather adored poetry. His therapist had used it extensively following the Changeling war to treat his PTSD. “Have you got your book with you, by any chance?”

“I do,” Wildfire didn’t know whether to blush or to beam. Eventually she tried to do both. “There are a few of my most recent ones online if you'd like to take a look?”

Quickly, Starbright finished the remnants of his desert. “I certainly would indeed, young lady.”

“Don't you have all of them on your tablet right now?” Tempest reminded her diminutive lover.

Now Wildfire really did blush, and she blushed hard. “That...is a very good point Honey. I'll ah…just get it for you out of my bag.”

Seeing Wildfire blush so hard, both Dusky and Brush Stroke sniggered. Not a loud snigger, but loud enough to get Dandelion’s attention. The cream earth pony gave them a very severe look. “Just for that, you two get to clear up all the dishes.”

Brush Stroke let out a dramatic sigh. “Alright dad…” he pouted and with Dusky’s help, managed between them to clear away the dishes to the kitchen.

As Wildfire busied herself with fishing through her saddlebag to retrieve her tablet, Dandelion got up and trotted over to his older partner and, given his unusually cheery mood, chanced a kiss. A kiss that he was pleased to get returned to him double. “Starry, you can read it in the living room if we're all done, would you all like another beer?”

Airmail shook her head as she stood up. “After dinner coffee would be nice, please.”

“Yes,” Tempest agreed as she too stood up from her seating pad, with her belly considerably more rounded than when she had sat down. “That does sound good.”

Dandelion smiled, “Coffee it is, Wildfire?”

“Beer please, Dandelion.”

“C'mon through then ladies,” Starbright smiled as Dandelion bustled his way into the kitchen to prepare coffee and boss around the two young lovers. “I'm curious as to these poems of yours, Wildfire.”

Once they were all four of them back in the living room and sat in the same places they were in before dinner, Wildfire had just passed the ex-army pony her tablet when her cell phone beeped, alerting her to a text message. As Starbright started reading Wildfire's poems, she checked her message. “It's from Raid, Darkie's gone with Thespian to the theatre, and her and Caffy have been to Mistresses to check out the house…”

“Mistress?” Starbright interrupted as he looked up from the tablet in his hooves, “I thought you two were, what with the collar and all,”

“We are a herd Starbright.” Airmail explained, “Mapper also goes by the title of Mistress.”

Starbright smiled. “Oh I wasn't judging, Brush goes in for all that too.” With that, he went back to reading a few more of the poems.

Wildfire however was reading more of her message. “Raid says according to everypony she's met there she should forgive herself.”

Airmail snorted. “Well duh!”

An idea came to Wildfire then as she caressed her phone in her forehooves. “What do you think Airy, that poem I read to you at my mum's grave? That should do it?”

“That was sweet.”

“Gotcha,” Wildfire smiled as she scrolled through her cell phone’s menus. “I'll send her the link, then she can look it up.” With that, the little blind mare sent Air Raid the link to her poem, ‘My Past is Not Today’. “Hopefully she'll get the message and get past this.”

“Wildfire,” Starbright spoke up suddenly from the poem he’d just read, the picture he’d just seen. “Was your mother called Silverbolt?”

Putting her phone away in her bag, Wildfire nodded, wondering how on earth Starbright knew her mum. “Um...yuppers, why?”

“I read her name and saw her picture here.” Starbright’s voice was a little awed, disbelieving. He checked again to make sure and nodded. “I wasn't sure at first but her cutie mark of five red lightning bolts says it's her alright. Wait here a moment…” Without any further explanation he trotted into another room connected to the living room.

Tempest snickered into Wildfire’s right ear. “Looks like somepony's opinion of Canterlot isn't completely negative after all.”

Wildfire flicked her ear at Tempest, utterly confused. “I don’t get it. What's mum got to do with it?” She asked as the sounds of Starbright rummaging and looking through closets and drawers came to their ears.

“He is from Canterlot?” Airmail suggested with a shrug, “Are you from there too, Dandelion?”

Dandelion smiled as he trotted into the living room with a tray carrying two coffees and three beers and he placed the tray on the low coffee table. “Oh no,” he replied, “I'm Trottingham born and bred. I was with Starry during the invasion, I visited him and he saved me from a group of Changelings.”

“Arranging a Changeling invasion to secure a wedding is pretty extreme,” Airmail snickered.

“Maybe,” Dandelion laughed. He could laugh about that horrid time now. “But it worked out pretty well.”

“Aha!” Starbright’s victorious cheer could clearly be heard by those in the living room, and a few moments later the handicapped pony trotted back into the room, carrying a few very old, very battered scrapbooks in his mouth and he placed them with all due reverence in front of Airmail and Tempest who were as ever either side of Wildfire. “I'd trade my hind legs again for him too!” He said, giving his wife a tender kiss. “Look on page seven of that scrapbook.”

Airmail, not knowing what they would find, cuddled Wildfire as Tempest cautiously flipped open the pages one by one. On page seven her blue eyes went very wide indeed when she saw what was there. In pride of place was a paper cut out – yellowed with age - of the Canterlot weather team helping the armed forces with lightning bolts fired from clouds they were carrying. “Oh, with names too!”

“What?” Wildfire asked, “What is it, Honey?”

It was Airmail however who answered her. “Wily, bring your hoof over here, but be gentle, it is old.”

“Alrighty…” very carefully, the blind mare moved her hoof to where Airmail directed it. Straightaway she felt the old newspaper beneath the frog of her hoof.

Airmail’s voice was thick with barely supressed emotion. “This is the Canterlot weather pegasi team helping out during the Changeling invasion.”

Tempest studied the date on the page. “About four years before you were born.”

Airmail continued. “Wily, this pegasus is named Silverbolt.”

Wildfire didn’t know what to say or think at that. It was mad. Crazy. Her mum didn’t do that. Surely not. Her mum? “Wha...um…what? M-My mum helped fight the Changelings? Really? For real?”

Starbright took his beer and took a very long swig. “For real. Colonel Airmail, you thanked me earlier for keeping your fiancé’s mother safe. The reality was she was keeping us safe, Silverbolt used the clouds to keep the skies clear while we retrieved fallen ponies on the frontlines.” He raised his beer in a salute. “At Heartbreak Ridge she stayed at her cloud while the others panicked and flew off.”

Airmail studied the picture of Silverbolt captured in action on the thundercloud. Mentally she compared it to the one Wildfire had shown her before. She suddenly had a massive amount of fresh respect for the dead mare. “I can't begin to say how much this means to us, Captain.”

Starbright smiled with pride as he remembered his old friend and saviour from Canterlot. “It's my sincere pleasure, Colonel.”

Wildfire let out a loud and prolonged sniff. Her hoof never left the scrapbook page. “M-My…my…mu...mum did that?”

“She did,” Starbright nodded. “Celestia herself awarded her the Equestria Cross for bravery above and beyond the call of duty. I made it my business to get to know that pegasus.”

Airmail decided to test the waters. “Did you by chance know another named Cold Front?”

Starbright didn’t answer. Not vocally at least. Instead he took the mouthful of beer and spat it on the hardwood floor in utter disgust. Dandelion was stunned. “Starbright!”

The old burgundy stallion however was not cowed. He spat again. “A more cowardly pony I've never met in my whole life. If he was in my unit I'd have had him up for desertion.” Muttering dark evil curses not quite under his breath, Starbright walked over to a shelf in the corner of the living room that was full of his trophies and medals and, after a moment’s investigation, took down a plain black box roughly six inches square with a hinged lid. “This is yours, Miss.” He said with a tear in his eye as he passed it to Airmail.

Airmail opened the case and very nearly cried. Looking back at her was the Equestria Cross dedicated to Silverbolt. She held in her hooves the highest award that it was possible for a civilian to attain. “Now…we cannot repay you for this. Cold Front is no more. He cut off a unicorn's horn.” Taking Wildfire’s hoof in her own, the azure blue mare moved it over the medal’s surface. “Wily, here is something your father didn't take away from you.”

Wildfire couldn’t believe what she was feeling. “This...this is mum's medal? But...but…how is it here?”

Starbright helped himself to another beer. “I kept in contact with your mum, I went to her funeral when she died. I mourned her loss. Eleven years ago I found this for sale on Ebay.” The old stallion let out a string of curses then that would’ve embarrassed a sailor until Dandelion calmed him down. “I promise you, there was no way under the sun and moon that anypony else was getting their hooves on this.”

Wildfire’s sniffs became longer and louder. Airmail and Tempest both knew their lover was crying her soul out. “M-Mum or dad never mentioned anything about this, what she did...” she sniffed again, even louder now. “D-Dad…my dad...sold her medal?”

Airmail and Tempest both wasted no time at all in wrapping Wildfire up in a feathery group hug. “Wildfire,” Starbright said gently, “your mother was a very brave pony, many of my friends survived that day because of her. It's my very great honour to return this to its rightful owner.”

Tempest didn’t honestly know what to think. “I-I'm really happy I made it rain that day, if this is the result.”

Sniffing for a good ten minutes in the depths of her herd-mate’s wings, eventually Wildfire recovered herself enough to move forward and she wrapped Starbright up in a signature Wildfire tackle hug just as Dusk and Brush Stroke re-entered the living room. Unaware, Wildfire showered Starbright’s face all over with countless kisses over and over again. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Restrained as ever, Wily.” Dusky snickered.

“What have we missed?” Brush Stroke asked as he steered his mare over to the seating pad they were sat on before.

It was Tempest who answered, seeing as Wildfire was still peppering the old pony’s craggy face with kisses of joy. “Starbright not only knew Silverbolt, but retrieved something that Cold Front tried to sell off.” The violet weather mare pointed a hoof to the box which Airmail held up to show them the Equestria Cross.

Dusky was beyond amazed. “That’s the Equestria Cross…” he’d never actually seen one in person. “The highest award for bravery for civilians? There hasn't been one of these awarded for decades. I'm sorry Wily, you hug away.”

Brush Stroke recognised the medal from the shelf. The one and only thing he had never ever been allowed to touch when he was younger. “But dad…isn't that the one you won off Ebay for...”

“Ah!” Starbright gasped, pulling out the hug as he interrupted his son before he could say anymore. “Yes it is, and hush up, son. It doesn't matter what I paid for it, y’hear!?”

“Tell me,” Wildfire squeaked, “I'll repay...”

Ready and prepared to silence her fiancé, Airmail did just that with a hoof straight to her lips. “Hush you. It is priceless, and the only way you could ever repay the Captain would be with a lot more hugs each time we visit.”

Wildfire nodded, Airmail’s hoof still at her lips for a few moments longer. “I-I'll give as many as I can, I promise.”

Starbright smiled a smile that split his old lived in face. “You are all welcome. Always welcome in this house.”

Dandelion nodded his agreement at that. “You most certainly are.”

Smiling warmly at the unfolding scene, Starbright wanted to carry on enjoying Wildfire’s hugs but he felt the old pain flourishing in his chest and across his upper thighs. “Aaah…n-now if you'll fo-forgive me ladies, my old bones get tired quick.” He thought he successfully covered it – except from Dandelion. “Ngggh…I'll bid you a good night, oh and when you go, please take the scrapbooks with you.”

Tempest thought she noticed the pain in the elderly stallion but she thought nothing of it as she was caught up in the moment. “We don't want to steal your memories for our own.”

“Aaah…I insist Tempest.” He winced a little, “Those are all about the Weather Team’s invaluable aid. Please take them. Consider them an early wedding present from me.”

Airmail sobbed a little, unable to keep it all in any longer. “Thank you, Captain. May your night be filled with sweet dreams.”

“And yours, Colonel.” Starbright forced himself to salute without shaking. He badly needed his meds. From the look on Dandelion’s face, he knew it too. “Please, stay as long as you want, I'm sorry I need to go.”

“Pegasi of a feather do flock together, don't they Airy?” Tempest asked while Airmail simply shrugged and resumed the hugging of her sniffing fiancé.

Already on his hooves, Dandelion was at his husband’s side ready to offer him the support he knew he badly needed. “Ladies, I'll be back in a few, Starry needs…help, at night.”

Starbright, in an attempt to save face, grumbled as they left the living room for the bedroom where his meds were kept. “I do not!”

As they both left, Wildfire gave a sniff that was audible from deep in Airmail's embrace. Watching, unsure what to do, Dusky asked, “Wily, are you okay?”

“Yu-Yuppers…” Wildfire sniffed before surfacing for air, “I just, I just need a minute, I’m sorry.”

Holding on to her little lover very tightly, Airmail nodded. “And, a long talk with your mom on our next visit.”

“Yuppers,” Wildfire nodded and smiled at last, “We will.”

“Is there anything you'd like to do?” Brush Stroke asked as he cuddled his mare, “There's movies, music, or we can go out, if you need some air?”

Tempest shook her head as she noticed the time ticking on. “We will head back to my place. We need to leave early for Baltimare.”

“Alrighty Tempest,” Dusky smiled in his stallion’s embrace. “I'll get a hug before you go, though.”

“Oh yes,” the artist smiled, “Hugsies!”

“We're not in a hurry to go,” Airmail responded.

“Oh I am sorry, Airy.” Dusky smiled, more at her own error than anything else.

Airmail shook her head, “Nothing to be sorry about Dusky.” She then hugged Wildfire ever closer to her side, just as Tempest hugged her to her as well. “It is good to have the best company at times like this.”

“It’s okay…” Wildfire sniffed deeply, her hooves caressing the medal she was holding like it was a piece of her mother she held. “I-I'm fine, really. Oils…your dad is an utter legend.”

As he tightened his hug on his mare, Brush Stroke snickered. “He isn't bad for a grumpy old stallion, is he?”

Tempest nodded. “From your lips to Celestia's ear.”

“So, you're off to Baltimare next then?” Dusky asked curiously.

“My eldest sister lives there.” Airmail said as she nodded by way of a reply.

“After that it is on to Fillydelphia to see my sister, and then back home after that.” Tempest put in as well.

Brush Stroke was impressed with their rather hectic schedule. He understood now what Wildfire had meant when she said it felt like her hooves hadn’t touched the ground. “So, you've pretty much toured the whole of Equestria in about a week?”

Airmail nodded. “We can catch the rest on our honeymoon.”

“Oh?” Dusky asked, her ears perked up, “What have you got planned for that?”

Wildfire giggled, holding on to the medal like it was glued to her hooves. “I’m thinking of a cruise up around the north of Equestria by boat and then an airship ride back from Las Pegasus to Manehatten.”

Brush Stroke whistled appreciatively. “You do it properly, don’t you?”

“I'm sure Dusky will take you somewhere just as nice,” Tempest said with a mischievous grin and her blue eyes twinkling, “Maybe an Appleoosa rodeo?”

Dusky pulled her stallion into a very deep, very loving kiss before pulling away with a saliva strand between them. “Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something for our honeymoon, my love…”

Brush Stroke’s green eyes were very wide indeed, especially with how Dusky had left that hanging in the air. “A-Are you asking me?”

Again Dusky gave him a kiss. “Maybe…”

Tempest however was curious about the little colt they were planning to adopt, what with what Dandelion had said to her. “Are you going to get some more visits to the orphanage before heading back, or do you think you'll be able to take the colt with you?”

Dusky considered that for a moment. “We're going to spend the day supervised with Ivory tomorrow, Wednesday, then hopefully again on Thursday.”

“If all goes well, they may let us take him with us Thursday,” Brush Stroke interjected.

At that, Airmail raised up her coffee cup in a toast. “Here's to all going well.”

Tempest raised her coffee as well, touching Airmail’s cup. “Hear, hear.”

Wildfire lifted up her beer bottle. “From me as well.”

Dusky nodded, extremely touched by his close friend’s best wishes. “If it does, we can introduce you to him Thursday evening at Stripes' place.”

“That will be sweet indeed.” Airmail smiled as she took a drink of her coffee. “There will be a lot of ponies there.”

“I take it Raid and Darkie will be there too?” Dusky asked.

Tempest nodded thoughtfully at that. “I think both of them are staying there till they get their own place.”

Dusky considered that for a moment, a smile slowly spreading across her face. “It would be nice to catch up with them again.” Although he knew he and Air Raid hadn’t parted on the best of terms – given that she had punched him square across the face four years ago – but now he was hoping that could be forgotten.

Wildfire smiled, “Honey invited Cyclone too.”

Dusky giggled. “Now that should be fun then. Mom said she was going as well.”

“I do hope so.” Airmail snickered, “Coffee Bean would be terribly disappointed if she didn't attend.”

Airmail yawned a teeny little yawn as she noted the time ticking over to ten p.m. “I’m sorry to call it a night, but we do need to make an early start of it in the morning.” She said reluctantly, “Anything else you'd like to do tonight, Wily?”

“Nopes,” Wildfire shook her head, “only to get my flank paddled back at Stormy’s place.”

“Good plan,” Dusky sniggered.

Airmail considered that, and she liked what she was thinking of and where it was going. “But should I do it on Friday, or wait till Sunday so she can't sit down on the first day of work?”

“You practice tonight,” Brush Stroke offered helpfully, “Then you practice Friday and do it again on Sunday. I find Dusky's flanks to be very accommodating to a decent paddling.”

“Yuppers...that sounds like a plan,” Wildfire couldn’t help but moan, “And I've been a naughty filly, or at least I will be.”

Tempest caressed her diminutive lover’s hind quarters. “I'm sure all that flying exercise makes them nice and firm.”

At that, Brush Stroke gave his mare’s generous firm flank a hard squeeze that no doubt left a mark under her dress. “You have no idea.”

“Ohhhhhhh,” Airmail squeezed Wildfire’s flank in turn. “I think we may Oils, we just may.”

Wildfire giggled, “I'm not squeezing her flank.”

“Well, fine,” Tempest laughed, “But you did hear how solid it was, right?”

Wildfire snickered, “I have your flanks to squeeze if I want to squeeze something sexy.”

“Are you sure?” Brush Stroke smiled as he again squeezed his Dusky’s ass hard, eliciting a low pleasured moan from the midnight blue pegasus, especially as he was straining hard against the lock around his sheath. “You’re all welcome to a squeeze.”

Airmail shook her head, though a smile was on her face. “Having watched and listened to Caffy caning that ass, I'd say it is firm.”

“It was Mapper, who caned that ass, Airy,” Tempest corrected her herd-mate. “You got confused with what Caffy did afterwards.”

Airmail blushed. “Oh, yeah.”

Brush Stroke gave Dusky’s tight ass under the cream dress a light spank, earning himself another moan from the locked up pony. “She told me all about that.”

“That was rather intense,” Wildfire smiled, easily recalling that fateful Thursday night as well as Airmail, Tempest and Dusky dd. “I remember listening to that, D.”

Dusky smiled lovingly up at her stallion, his crotch aching under the tight lock he wore. “Mapper was very good with the cane.”

“As good as me?” Brush Stroke asked as he landed another spank on his mare’s flank.

“Aaah…” Dusky moaned into a kiss to her stallion’s mouth. “About equal…”

Wildfire shivered. “That whole night was so intense, listening to all the others being punished and awaiting my turn.”

“Yours was the harshest punishment.” Airmail whispered lovingly into her fiancé’s left ear as she and Tempest hugged her tight to them.

Curious now, Brush Stroke asked, “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Wildfire answered quickly.

“Nothing at all?”

“Nopes,” Wildfire shook her head and shivered at the memory. “I was suspended and just left there. It was...terrifying like I can't describe.”

“That is how Mapper works,” Airmail explained for the mid blue earth pony’s benefit. She understood he didn’t really know Mapper. “Hearing you say your safe word really gets her off.”

Brush Stroke nodded. As a Dom himself he understood the power that entailed, but still. “I get that Airy, but what's so bad about just being suspended?”

Dusky kissed her dominant stallion’s lips to get his attention. “Love, not now...”

Wildfire however interrupted her best friend. “It's okay D, he can ask.”

In her left ear, Airmail whispered her support. “You do got this, Wily.”

Turning her head to the left, Wildfire kissed Airmail’s cheek and took a deep breath. The presence of her mother’s medal in her hooves helped to steady her. “Well, the care home I was in, back in Canterlot.” She started quietly but confidently, “You know they abused me, right?”

Brush Stroke nodded, listening intently. “Right.”

Wildfire continued. Her newest friend deserved to know, given that he was with her best friend. “See, one of their favourite things to do to me was shut me in a box barely big enough to fit me. Sometimes for fun, they'd break my wings if I wouldn't let a stallion rape me, and then they'd shut me in the box, maybe for a week at a time. I'm claustrophobic. All pegasi are claustrophobic. I screamed myself mute sometimes, I’d almost go insane before they let me out. So, being suspended simulated the sensation of being in the box.”

“Wh-Why would Mapper go that far?” Brush Stroke asked with tears in his green eyes, “It seems harsh.”

It was Airmail who answered that question. She was well aware just why, after all, Luna had told her and Tempest in no uncertain terms. “Wily was proud to not be broken, to not use her safe word. She was proud of the pain she could take. Luna said that if Wily wouldn’t use it then she would go back into state care. Luna didn't count on Mapper.”

“It was all a test,” Wildfire said as she picked up the story. “One that I passed, thankfully. Now I'm here, with my herd-mates,” she nodded over to Dusky and Brush Stroke in their general direction. “I’m with my friends, and I’m with my fiancé. Amethyst Glory has no hold over me anymore, I've been released, I'm free.” She kissed Airmail and Tempest lovingly. “I'm living.”

“And loving.” Airmail put in as Tempest giggled, “When she isn't hoofing.”

Wildfire giggled, “Pretty, you're awful.”

“Do you want a hoof carrying the scrapbooks back?” Dusky asked.

“Can we borrow a large saddlebag?” Airmail asked when she judged the size of the books. “We’ll return it to you on Thursday.”

“Thank you,” Tempest said when Brush Stroke trotted off and quickly returned with an extra-large saddlebag draped across his back. “I hope to see three of you on Thursday.”

Brush Stroke smiled, “You will, Tempest, I'm sure.”

Dusky smiled as she nuzzled up to her stallion and sincerely wished the lock was removed about now. However she did her best to hide her discomfort. “Will auntie Wily be giving out pony rides?”

Wildfire nodded. “Damn right I will, and I'll give your little colt one, too.”

Airmail and Tempest both laughed at that. “Wily is a Power Pony after all,” Airmail snickered.

Dusky grinned at that. “You sure are.”

Wildfire made her heroic pose. “Stealth Pony, that's me!”

“Well, Stealth Pony, here's your books.” The midnight blue pegasus smiled as she helpfully loaded the old scrapbooks in the large saddlebag.

“Thank you again, Dusky.” Tempest gave her friend a genuinely caring nuzzle. “See you all soon.”

Wildfire felt her way to Brush Stroke and hugged the earth pony artist as tight as she could. “Thank your dad again for me Oils, please.”

Airmail and Tempest both hugged Brush Stroke and Dusky tight. “Will Dandelion be coming back before we go?” Tempest asked, hoping to hug him too.

“Did I just hear a sweet mare utter my name?” Dandelion asked as he made his way back into the living room from the bedroom now that his husband was at last asleep.

“My word summoning power is still working I see.” Tempest grinned and launched herself across the room to tackle hug the fifty two year old cream earth pony. “Thank you for all your hospitality.”

Airmail made sure to follow that up with a two hard hugs of her own. “Share the second with the Captain.”

“I certainly will.” Dandelion gathered up the three mares in a crushing earth pony group hug. “Starry still fights the war, you know, in his head. You all made my husband a very happy pony tonight. He hasn't settled this quickly in a long time.”

Airmail kissed the cream stallion’s cheek. “Do look us up on your next Manehatten vacation.”

“Count on it.” Dandelion smiled, “And if you don’t see us before, we'll be at the wedding.”

“I hope so,” Airmail replied, “Just your flowers will not quite be the same as you being there. Oh, bring the Captain's desert, and him too.”

Dandelion whispered in Airmail’s ear, “He was rather hoping to get an invite.”

“Formal invites will be sent out Monday of next week which should be enough time for a wedding on the fifteenth of next month.” Airmail smiled warmly. “Just so you know, I do expect Luna to be there.”

Dandelion smiled. He knew his husband. Grumpy as he might be, he loved Silverbolt like a sister. There was nowhere in Equestria he’d rather be than at the wedding. “Airy, I really can't see that being an issue. He has at least a grudging respect for the royals.”

“Okies,” Airmail giggled, “I’d hate to sic his future son-in-law on him.”

“Please don't,” Dandelion giggled, “he might not catch the next vase.”

Dusky gave her best friend a last hug. “You three fly carefully now.”

Wildfire snickered. “Yes mom, I will.”

“Do you have everything?” Dandelion asked.

Tempest checked all their bags and made sure everything, including the scrapbooks and the medal, were in their bags. “Yes, thank you.”

“Then fly safely,” Dandelion said as he escorted them out through the small hallway to the chilly night outside. “All of you.”

“Mother Hen to Stealth Pony and On Time,” Tempest said loudly once they were all in position on the cobbled sidewalk. “Ready to start manoeuvres to the Cloud District?”

Wildfire giggled as she spread her wings and gave them a test flap. “Stealth Pony ready, Mother Hen.”

“Goodnight all.” Airmail turned to wave at the three stallions in the door way. “I have the rear, you take point, Mother Hen.”

“Copy that!” With a last wave, Tempest launched herself up into the starry night sky.

“Thanks, again!” Wildfire flapped her yellow wings and took off. With Airmail behind her and Tempest in front, Wildfire smiled as she ascended upwards through the sky. As she flew, she reflected. As she reflected, she smiled.

She was Wildfire.

She was a flame burning brightly.

She wasn’t just free, she was released.

Her flame was renewed.